


knock off the rust

by Gildedstorm



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 22:17:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20415196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gildedstorm/pseuds/Gildedstorm
Summary: Shadowed by the lives of strangers, Oni-42 cares less about the Light and more for ways to outrun her past. But there are times when the world almost fits.





	knock off the rust

**Author's Note:**

> I've been accumulating lots of drabbles and wips around my (regrettably) hunter main, so might as well finally post them somewhere!

“Are you even listening?”

Oni turned, and the Ghost – or was it just Ghost? – was right in her face, hovering at eye level. There was something about his shell, the way his optic focused on her, that gave the impression of a suspiciously squinting eye.

“Sorry,” she said. “I was just... remembering.” She knew she’d been here before, but the air had changed since then. Once she’d realized that, she had to stand there and breathe it in, taste it.

Well. Let the sensors inside her mouth analyze it. Thinking too hard about the mechanics behind her body was never a good idea. She remembered _that_ much.

That made Ghost draw back. “...I guess being brought back like this is a lot to take in. Not that I would know, obviously, but... you do look pretty outdated –”

“_What?_” The way he said it made her sound like some kind of rustbucket, but _that_ much time couldn’t have passed.

The squint returned, though more critical than suspicious now. “Yeah, that camo pattern you’ve got – no Exo’s been going out with that for... a century, at least. Makes you look like a target – a _tacky_ target.” He drifted closer. “Not that it’s your fault, of course, since you were dead but. I just thought you should know. You really might want to get yourself fixed up once we’re back, just so you’re not a walking embarrassment.” Her eyes flared, but he just kept _talking._ Even if he had brought her back to life, surely that didn’t mean she couldn’t just swat him out of the air?

“Not that anyone cares about _you_ right now, but I’m a Ghost with a reputation to uphold, especially now that I’ve found you –”

“You really fucking think,” she began, ready to tear right back into him, and then something in the easy way he’d been going on, all the little conspiratorial looks he was shooting her, made _sense_. “...You’re winding me up.”

He bobbed in the air. “That’s right!” he said, sounding delighted. “I had to make sure you were paying attention this time.”

Oni’s lips twitched. “By being an asshole.”

“Being helpful and concerned wasn’t doing it.” Ghost floated closer, hovering over her shoulder. “What _matters_ is that it worked. Now if you can pay attention to me and walk at the same time, we’ll have a good start.”

“I _could_ do that. Or instead, I could throw you like a....” The retort hadn’t been great to begin with, on account of having been dead just a while ago, and there was a hole in the middle of it, the word evaporating as she reached for it. In the brief, expectant silence, she felt clumsy and wrong-footed.

Luckily, Ghost seemed like quite the talker. “Do that, and your chances of surviving drop... oh, a thousand percent. They’re pretty low already. There’s Guardians who never make it to the City, what with....” He helpfully rattled off a list of things likely to kill her, but Oni was no longer listening. In her memory something dull and not quite painful lurched to the surface.

The City. She’d been there before. Something bad had happened there, or near it, or on the way... she couldn’t be sure, but the dread remained.

“It’ll be fine,” she said. “I know the way.”


End file.
